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darrendaye wrote: Brown is a bit more on the fence in this regard. In the event he doesn't take a big jump, I'd say he should be pulled aside and counseled that the role you are suggesting is best for all parties involved. More cutting, more motion shooting, etc.

darrendaye wrote:

The Comedian wrote:I thought Smart played with a slower pace in the finals, but I mean they had Tatum playing more of the PG role in the finals, Smart more off ball.

I also think MS was both injured and gassed in the finals, and defended his ASS OFF, so he just didn’t have as much in the tank to drive a lot and be a creator. I’m excited to see what he can do with a season of the system under his belt, same for Tatum/Jaylen, and especially White.

Both Smart and Tatum need to walk the ball up-court less frequently. I mean, you can slow it down once it crosses the time-line but one of the reasons you like having 6'8" guys bringing it up is to see over a yet to be settled defense. Guys need some low throttle time on court, but that's why they invented catch and shoot corner 3s and trailer 3s. When Smart takes it up it should be mostly with 2 intentions: find an early opening for a score or pass to Tatum (primarily)/Brown (when more prudent) on the wing.

greenroom31 wrote:Having suffered through half the season, it's super clear to me that this team's biggest issue by far is lack of a true PG. Jayson and Jaylen are forced to not just score but also create for other players, which they are still learning how to do well. The other guys aren't great shooters to start with, but it's made worse by the fact that we don't have a PG to set the table for them and run real plays. This especially kills us at crunch time/in the 4th quarter, and is part of the reason we've been so bad in those situations. Just asking for "more ball movement" is not enough.

The lack of a true PG is our most glaring issue and adding one could help us in a major way and put everyone in the right place so to speak. And a quick note for those who want to defend Smart/Schroder/Pritchard -- Smart is a great 6th man/defensive role player, but he is playing off the ball the majority of the time. He's too careless with the ball. Schroder is ball dominant and has a score-first mentality. Pritchard is really more of an undersized SG, or at least he's used that way.

Ok, now on to the point of this thread: let's do Brad's job and find who we could realistically acquire to fill this role. First, a list of some possible/quasi-realistic targets that we could get without moving Brown or Tatum (who I FIRMLY believe are not the issue):

Rotational Guys:
-Tyus Jones (Memphis) / 1 year, $8.4M
-Jalen Brunson (Dallas) / 1 year, $1.8M
-Cam Payne (Phoenix) / 3 years, $19M
-Patrick Beverly (Minnesota) / 1 year, $14.3M
-Goran Dragic (Toronto) / 1 year, $19.4M
-Coby White (Chicago) / 3 years, $13M, last year is qualifying offer at $10M
-Cory Joseph (Detroit) / 2 years, $12.5M, last year is player option

Potential Starters:
-Josh Hart (New Orleans) / 3 years, $38M deal, last year is player option
-Devonte Graham (New Orleans) / 4 years, $47M
-De'Aaron Fox (Sacramento) / 5 years, $163M (would love Haliburton but I think it would take Jaylen or Tatum)
-Malcolm Brogdon (Indiana) / 4 years, $89M
-Spencer Dinwiddie (Washington) / 3 years, $54M
-D'Angelo Russell (Minnesota) / 2 years, $61M
-Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia) / 4 years, $16M (rookie deal with team option year 3, qualifying year 4)
-Eric Bledsoe (Clippers) / 2 years, $37.5M
-Reggie Jackson (Clippers) / 2 years, $21.6M

High-Risk/Unknown Upside:
-John Wall (Houston) / 2 years, $92M, last year is player option that he is DEFINITELY taking
-CJ McCollum (Phoenix) / 3 years, $100M (I know he's not a PG but we could give it a shot, and Portland may be desperate to make a change)
-Ben Simmons (Philadelphia) / 4 years, $147M (would have to take Harris too, but putting it out there for discussion)
-Russell Westbrook (Lakers) / 2 years, $91M, last year is player option that he is DEFINITELY taking

Next post I will dig into each of these groups and talk about some guys I'd like to target and what possible trades might look like. Would love to hear your thoughts on this list and also if I left anyone out who should be in here! Mods: I know there's already a trade thread but I feel this is a very specific and focused thread on our most important need vs. every team and every rumor, so hopefully we can keep this one separate.

The Comedian wrote:Sure seems like we have a true PG.

How curious.

The Comedian wrote:Sure seems like we have a true PG.

How curious.

Homerclease wrote:

The Comedian wrote:Sure seems like we have a true PG.

How curious.

Interesting timing after that 8/0 A/T ratio from Jaylen last night…

The Comedian wrote:

Homerclease wrote:

The Comedian wrote:Sure seems like we have a true PG.

How curious.

Interesting timing after that 8/0 A/T ratio from Jaylen last night…

Jaylen is who I was talking about, obviously.

Homerclease wrote:

The Comedian wrote:

Homerclease wrote:Interesting timing after that 8/0 A/T ratio from Jaylen last night…

Jaylen is who I was talking about, obviously.

Somewhere out there, Jacqua is furious about how well Smart has been playing this year